Cool and the Gang
by Melonballoon
Summary: AU. One's got OCD, another has a God complex.  Mix that with two trigger happy sisters, a well endowed ninja and a blonde hell bent on castrating all men, and you've got yourself one hell of a gang of theives and con artists.  This is so uncool.
1. A Brush with the Law

**Okay, Hello hello hello! This is my first new work in a long time, and as of yet it is purely experimental. Meaning, I have no plot yet worked out of this story, just lil ideas floating around inside my head ^^ So... The point of this is to just see if its working really. I was wondering whether I should make Kid or Maka the main Police Officer who is chasing the gang... or whether it should be Spirit/Shinigami-sama/an OC...**

**So... If you read this and feel like leaving a review on whether you think this could go anywhere or not, please do - I'll promise to read it ;)**

**Inspired by: The Sly Cooper Series (I tried not to make them too similar), The Italian Job (which I watched last night) and other similar con artist/thief stuff... like Zen... Which tbh is really boring, they try to make it look good/suave but the fact of the matter is that it's set in Italy and there's only one character who sounds remotely Italian, the rest are English xD**

**DISCLAIMER: I have no rights to Soul Eater, and as such am writing this purely for the benefit of myself and readers, no profit involved. Swear.**

**So here goes nothing!**

**Episode 1 - Brush with the Law**

_"If you can't count on a friend to bust you out of jail then what kind of a friend are they?" - Bentley, Sly 2._

Liz sighed as she wiggled her arms. Nope, they were firmly hand-cuffed to the chair she was currently seated in. She sighed again and slouched back into the chair, wondering when the rest of the team would get their asses to the Police Station she and her sister were being held at.

Liz was staring intently at a stain on the tiled ceiling when suddenly, the cheap wooden door slammed open, banging against the wall harshly to reveal the poor sap they'd sent to interrogate her. He was already fuming by the looks of things; Liz had to hold back a smirk as he slammed his fists upon the table between them. She didn't blame him, she'd be pissed too had she been working on the other side of the law.

"Where is he?" The Officer demanded. Liz feigned innocence, sending the Officer a confused look.

"Who?" His face turned a shade darker; apparently his patience had already been tried, probably by her younger sister.

"Look, you may think you and your little gang are clever, but after we're done you won't be seeing the light of day for a long time." He sneered. A thin eyebrow rose at the threat.

"Is that so?" Liz was tempted to fold her arms, just to see if she could push him further; unfortunately the act was ruined by the fact that her wrists were bound to the armrests. A mere detail, she thought, but a pity nonetheless. The Officer gave a hollow laugh.

"Don't think you'll be so smug when you three are locked away. Can't imagine poor Patricia would like that eh? Alone in a cold damp cell with no big sis to protect her," he said mockingly. Liz's eyes narrowed at the comment, anyone who dared to mess with Patti would face the consequences. She opened her mouth to answer back but was interrupted when the door opened a second time. The Officer didn't bother to look back at his subordinate who had just entered the room.

"Sir? The file you requested." He said simply, holding out a manila folder which was then snatched out of his hands. As his senior inspected the papers within, the junior officer spared a glance at Liz. He smirked at her, revealing a set of pointy teeth. Liz rolled her eyes and looked away, he had no chance.

"You can leave now." The Senior Officer said, not taking his eyes off the paper.

"Yes sir. Is there anything else sir?"

"Yeh, get me some coffee." He replied, rubbing at his temples. The younger nodded silently and left the room. As soon as the door clicked closed, Liz's vision was assaulted with a blown up picture of her albino friend as the Officer shoved the file in her face. "Soul 'Eater' Evans. The little ring-leader of your pathetic gang." The officer practically spat the other's name out; Liz had to lean back in the chair just to avoid receiving the weather. Gross.

"What makes you think I even know where he is?" Liz asked calmly, peering over the top of the file. The Officer stood up and dropped the file onto the table, letting it slide until it came to a stop right in front of Liz. She glanced down at it for a moment before returning her gaze to the angered man. Perfect.

"Look. You two seem like decent enough people. I'm sure you don't want to be behind bars for any longer than necessary, especially Patti, poor girl won't know what hit her." Liz scowled; this man was seriously beginning to annoy her. If he thought he could bribe her into giving away the location of their safe house, he had another thing coming. "If you tell me where Evans is, I'll see to it that you, Patti and Kid will get severely shortened sentences, hell, you might all get off for free. You wouldn't give up an opportunity like that now would you?" Liz contemplated the idea.

"You're right." She replied finally. His face brightened instantly. "I wouldn't give up an opportunity like that." The Officer was hanging off her every word now; fruitlessly trying to catch their 'little gang' for years could do that to a person. Liz could see the determination in his face as he leaned in closer. "So, you wanna know where Soul is?" Liz asked, staring intently at the file. Should be relatively easy, after all it had been a few minutes already.

"Yes. Tell me now." He was growing impatient and was just about ready to resort to torture to get the blonde to speak up. He was gripping the edges of the table so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Liz sighed.

"Well? Right now he's probably letting Patti out of her cell." Liz grinned smugly as she watched his expression change from hopeful, to confusion and then to outright rage, he was concentrating on her face so much that he had completely failed to see what her hands had been doing with their restricted mobility. Tch, some cop he was.

"WHAT? TELL ME! WHERE IS HE? WHERE ARE YOU-" He was suddenly cut off mid-rant.

BBRRRINNNGGG!

The fire alarm? A bit showy but Liz expected no less from her team, Maka was probably behind setting it off. The Officer immediately spun round and opened the door to the interrogation room. Peering out into the hall he could clearly see his colleagues attempting to flee the building.

"Shit." He cursed, turning back to see Liz shrugging and smirking at him. He stalked towards her, hand raised back and ready to fly forward. Liz screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the impending impact.

"Now is that any way to treat a lady?" A deep voice sounded from behid Liz and the Officer, who stopped suddenly and wheeled around, facing the doorway. Only to see no one there. He ran to the doorway, turning his head left and right – what the? The halls were clear. He started when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Just as he turned his head, the Policeman felt the full impact of an angry blonde's foot in his face.

Liz, now completely free of the handcuffs, watched as the man crumpled to the floor.

"That's for threatening my sister, bastard." She kicked him one more time for good measure, satisfied with the groan he let out.

"Are you finished? I've got Maka screeching down my earhole here." The same deep voice spoke up. Despite, the loud blaring of the alarm, Soul was looking perfectly composed, leaning against the doorframe in the uniform he'd managed to get his hands on. "OW!" He complained sharply, lifting his hand to his right ear, "Jesus Maka. Alright, alright we're coming." Soul was already walking down the corridor with Liz in toe, disposing of the police hat that had previously been perched on his head and ruffling his spiky white hair.

"Should have kept that, you look good in a uniform." Liz teased, appreciatively checking him out as he walked. Soul smirked, swaggering slightly at the compliment, not that his ego wasn't big enough already.

"Oh really? What happens if I keep it on?"

"I'll whack you over the head with your stun baton." Maka's voice piped up from the earpiece. "Now if you're quite done, Patti's made it to the van, we're just waiting for you two to get here. And hurry up, Black*Star's getting agitated." Soul laughed, his blue-haired friend was always extremely over-enthusiastic, even when they were on holiday. Having memorised the layout of the Police Station, Soul reminded himself of how to get to the emergency exit where their van would be waiting to get them out of there.

"OI! YOU STOP NOW! BACKUP!" The Police Officer, holding his quickly bruising cheek, shouted, sprinting towards them. A few seconds passed before he was joined by two other officers, getting ready to take fire by the looks of things.

"Shit." Soul said. He stood still for about a millisecond, before grabbing Liz's shoulders. "If we carry on we'll lead them right to the van, you go, I'll distract chubby and co." Liz nodded quickly as Soul briefly gave her directions, the police were almost upon them.

"Try not to break anything like last time." They both smiled, before bolting in opposite directions.

That was close, Soul thought, he had practically felt the Officer's fingertips brushing the fabric of the white shirt, ready to grab and haul him to a dark cell somewhere. But sprinting at full speed, Soul had managed to gain some distance between them. He risked a glance back. Good. They were all following him. Poor judgement on the Police's part, letting Liz get away meant the rest of the gang getting away. Soul guessed the guy in charge was blinded by his determination to catch him. The white-haired man let out a brief chuckle, there was no way they were going to get him. Especially not since he knew every…

"Crap." He panted, studying the dead end that lay before him. That had not been on the floorplan.

"Any help Maka?" He tried to keep the urgency out of his voice; after all it was not acceptable for him to appear flustered in front of anyone. But the Police were catching up, Soul's worst nightmare was playing out right in front of him and – were those guns?

"There's a door on your left, go through it." Soul swivelled round and rammed himself into the door, throwing his bodyweight against it. It wouldn't budge.

"Maka!"

"Okay okay, try the door on your right?" He held back a groan of frustration, she was supposed to be an expert at this sort of thing. A shot rang out; Soul ducked on instinct and threw himself into the door opposite the one he had just tried. Hopefully, this one would give him more than a painful shoulder. Thankfully, the door burst open and Soul stumbled into a room full of desks and computers, a typical office. He shut the door after himself and quickly blocked it with a photocopier that was placed next to the door. He stood back and attempted to catch his breath as the angered shouts penetrated through the door.

"Okay, where to now?" He asked, pushing the earpiece in further, anxious for a reply.

"Yeah, you're trapped now."

"WHAT?" He could almost feel her flinch on the other side.

"The only way out is through a window, and you're on the third floor." Soul ignored her as he rushed towards one of the windows. This was turning out to be a very bad day. Oh well, there was only one thing for it. He opened the window and peered down to the street below, immediately grimacing and looking back up. The cool air hit him completely as he stepped out fully onto the tiny ledge that the window offered. There was a balcony on the other side of the street, part of an apartment complex. If he could just jump far enough to catch onto the- nah, stupid. There was no way anyone could make that.

He climbed back inside the room and took a few steps back, rubbing sweaty palms on his pant legs as he took a deep breath. It was in that moment that the photocopier was finally shoved aside, tipping over as the Police burst into the room, shouting random orders to apprehend the white-haired thief. Not even thinking about what he was doing, Soul took a running leap and closed his eyes as he left the safety of the building and risked the 30ft drop into the traffic below.

Soul could hear his heart pounding and Maka's voice practically screaming through the earpiece as he flew through the air. Everything appeared to be happening in slow motion. The railings over the balcony were so close now! As soon as his fingertips brushed against the cold metal, he grasped on, slipping down until his fingers reached the rough concrete that made up the base of the balcony. Grabbing onto one of the railings more firmly, he attempted to lift his left foot onto the concrete, scrabbling and slipping along the way.

BANG!

Soul dropped back down as another shot impacted on the metal railings a couple of inches above where his foot had been moments before.

"Ohh this is not good."

"Soul? You still alive?" Maka piped up, her voice was calm though, rather than the panicked one he had heard whilst doing a Superman.

"Ah you know, just getting some fresh air and all." He replied, determined to not look down, he didn't think his fingers would be able to grip onto the edge much longer, and even if he did make it into the apartment complex the Police were sure to be waiting for him, and what if the Senior Officer who was most likely behind the first two shots fired again? His mind was buzzing with all sorts of worst case scenario's.

"Good. Now listen. I need you to let go."

"WHAT? Why on Earth would I LET GO?"

"Ready?"

"NO!"

"Three."

"MAKA!"

"Two."

"I'm not-"

"One." Soul scrunched his eyes shut, this was absolute madness but he trusted his team with his life. Which in this situation was a particularly good thing to have. Oh God there was nothing else for it.

"Let go now!" Soul nearly, key word being nearly, screamed like a girl as he let his grip on the concrete loosen before taking his hands completely away from the small amount of safety clinging on to the edge of a balcony could provide. He kept his eyes closed as the wind rushed passed him, waiting for the smacking, thumping, crunching etc. sounds that would come with hitting the ground below. He was surprised, however, when he impacted harshly against metal. It left him gasping for breath and his back felt as if it was on fire but hell, he was alive! The thief rolled himself over, noting that he was currently lying… On top of the van. He had to cling to the edge as they swung around the corner, but couldn't be bothered to berate Black*Star's 'amazing driving technique'. Hearing his team's cheers of triumph as they gained more and more distance between themselves and the Police Station just made him want to sit back and do nothing but aim a toothy grin at the sky.

"Oi. You coming in?" A voice asked from the rear of the van. Soul looked up to see Liz and Patti's faces peeking up over the edge of the roof, holding the doors open. The two sisters managed to grab onto Soul's arms, pull him down over the edge and swing him (none too gently) into the back of the van, promptly closing the doors behind them.

Meanwhile, a very angry senior officer stormed into his office. Great. They all managed to get away, plus he'd shot at an unarmed man. Twice. The Chief was going to have his ass for this. It took him a few seconds to spot the mug of coffee innocently sitting on his desk. He was confused for a moment, before he noticed the note left alongside it. His expression immediately soured.

_Two sugars, no milk. Just how you like it. S._

"THAT SON OF A-!" He was cut off by the door opening, one of his colleagues peering her head in.

"Mike, the Chief wants to talk to you." She said simply before leaving. As much as Mike wanted to shout and throw the mug across the room, he really needed the coffee.

"Bastard." He cursed, sitting down at his desk and taking a gulp of the steaming liquid. This was not going to be pretty.

**End Episode.**

**Hmm... I hope its not too much like the Sly games... but gosh darn it I love them so 3  
Anyways, yeah - the future of this story depends on any possible feedback... and I'm not just saying that, i like the idea but I don't know if its something that's overused or tired, or whether anyone can put up with the idea that Soul is the main character (ish) I want to be able to spread it out, like different episodes about different characters.**

**EDIT 25/01/11 - Yeh, I've just changed this chapter to not include Kid. Dont worry, he'll be coming in later, I just had trouble thinking of a reason as to why he would be in a gang but i've thought of one now! I want everyone to have their own reasons for joining and before Kid didn't really have a motive, so something will happen in le future to make him swap sides *hinthint***

**EDIT: 19/03/11 - Yep just realised that the beginning of the chapter still included Kid, i've fixed it anyway ;)  
**


	2. New Job

Chapter 2:

"If I don't bust them out soon they'll be working a 9 to 5 job selling shoes!" – Bentley, Sly 2

2 weeks later.

The sound of heels clacking against the linoleum floor echoed around the deserted corridor as the owner of said designer shoes strutted along confidently, heading towards the office up ahead. Arriving at her destination, she straightened out her black suit jacket, dusting off invisible dirt before stretching her hand forwards to knock on the door. Just as her knuckles were about to hit the surface, the door swung open, leaving her hand to knock on thin air. A particularly angry looking man, the one who had opened the door, pushed passed her as he stormed out, cursing under his breath. The woman barely flinched, tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ear as she watched him take out his frustration on an innocent message board with mild amusement.

"God fucking fuck… Albino bastard, I'm gonna kill that lil fu-" The man cut himself off as he realised he was being stared at, allowing bits of destroyed poster to fall to the floor. The blonde raised a thin eyebrow at him as he flushed; attempting to straighten his tie and regain some dignity before continuing on his journey towards what she was sure was going to be the exit.

"Ah, you must be his replacement." The chief called from inside the room. His voice spoke of relief with a slight edge of sarcasm that was most likely a shot at the man who had just exited. As she entered, she took in the office with well hidden disgust. Files everywhere, paper littering the chief's desk along with the stains of a thousand stress relieving cups of coffee, tut tut. Even the chief himself looked a mess with dishevelled greying hair and a loosened tie. She wondered if this state of disarray had anything to do with what that man had been rambling on about. Albinos?

She held out her hand towards him and gave her best warm smile, praying that he wasn't a soft fool like most law enforcers she had come across during her career.

"It's good to meet you Chief Walker." She said as she shook his hand briefly before tugging it back and discretely wiping it on her skirt.

"And of course the same to you Miss Medusa. Your reputation precedes you after all." The Chief replied as Medusa took a seat on the other side of the messy desk. He was elated to have her agree to provide assistance in the capture of that stupid gang, she had a long track record when it came to catching criminals, never failing to put them behind bars and just the thought of having Soul and his friends tucked away in a nice dark cell had him sighing in happiness. No they weren't murderers or rapists, in fact to date they had been responsible for very few serious casualties, most victims receiving not much more than a nasty bump on the head. But they were one thing and that was a bloody pain in the Chief's ass, he couldn't thank the gods enough that someone as prestigious as Medusa was sitting on the other side of his desk.

"I believe in a more… hands on approach to law enforcement." She said slyly, the chief didn't seem to pick up on it though.

"Good. I believe you're just what we need in catching this gang." He paused for a moment before decidedly remembering something. With a quiet 'ah', Chief Walker got up out of his seat and turned his back on Medusa, rummaging around in the piles and shelves behind his desk before pulling out a heavy looking box. He brought it back to the desk whilst Medusa attempted to clear an area on the desk for it before the chief plopped it down. They have their own box? Medusa wondered. This should be fun. Chief Walker patted his hand against the top of the box. "In here are the profiles of the six gang members we know about so far including the leader," at this point the man took off the well-worn lid and extracted a manila folder before handing it to her. Medusa studied the front for a moment before turning the cover. What drew her attention immediately were the slightly demonic garnet coloured eyes that stared back at her from the photograph in the top right hand corner, held in place via paperclip.

Ah, so that's what that guy meant when he said albinos. Along with the red eyes, this man's hair was a bright shade of white that swept up and over to one side, looking halfway between stylish and bedhead. The years had been kind to him, she thought, and judging by the cocky glint in his eyes he knew it. But there was no denying the face of the young man she had met briefly about six years prior.

"We've been trying to catch them for years and it's been failure after failure. The guy who used to be in charge, Mike, actually had two of them in custody and Soul in this building a couple of weeks ago." The Chief shook his head, using one hand to lean his weight against the desk. Medusa raised her eyebrows but her gaze never left the staring contest she was currently instigating with a photograph. Medusa's eyes narrowed and a smirk emerged as she imagined wiping that grin off his face. Despite working in law enforcement, she wasn't above using dirty tactics to break a strong will.

"Ah, so that man-" Medusa trailed off, letting the Chief finish the sentence.

"Is off the team. I know the kid's a bugger, but Mike let his frustration get the better of him. He even tried to shoot at him while he was unarmed. Can you believe that?"

"Unbelievable." Medusa answered with fake sincerity, shaking he head slightly. Chief Walker didn't seem to pick up on it though. He was awfully slow for a police chief, Medusa thought.

"While you're here you'll have your own office, a team of dedicated Officers and access to whatever you need. I know I should let you get settled and read their files but we've already received a tip-off as to where they're going to hit next." Chief walked grabbed a newspaper that was lying on top of a pile of papers and placed it in the middle of the desk. He pointed at the main article as Medusa leaned over slightly to read.

"Snake's Tears to be centrepiece at Mayor's Ball." She read off the paper before glancing at the big picture. It showed a gold necklace necklace full of bright green emeralds that fell in the shape of teardrops intermingled with many small sparkling diamonds, well that's where it got its name from then, Medusa concluded.

"The Mayor holds a Ball every year, inviting all kinds of guests from celebrities to guys looking to rub shoulders with the fat cats of Death City. They wine, dine yada yada, Shinigami-sama will give his usual speech and then they all get pissed. But this year, Snake's Tears is being put on display. It's some ancient Asian necklace that's on loan to be part of an exhibition at Death City Museum, estimated to be worth around half a million and according to our tip-off, Soul's gang are going to attempt to steal it." Medusa's eyes narrowed for a moment, before she lifted her gaze back to the Chief.

"How reliable is this tip-off?" She questioned.

"It was anonymous, but we don't want to be taking any chances. It's possible of course that Soul's given us this information himself just to show us up later. Either way I'm confident that with your help, we'll be able to catch them this time. Now, the Ball is taking place Friday evening and security around Shinigami-sama's mansion is going to be tight, there will be guards posted everywhere, hell even at Mr. Kibble's cat flap and that's not to mention the security around the necklace. It's being held in a glass case…

… That is going to be surrounded by wall to wall lasers and pressure pads under the floor which are activated as soon as the Ball finishes at midnight. Practically impenetrable. Which is why we're gonna steal it during the party." Soul smirked as he turned to face the rest of his gang. They all sat in a dark room, staring wide eyed at Soul and the projector behind him that showed off the same picture of Snake's Tears that was featured in the newspaper. One of the occupants of the room, a blue-haired man, jumped up and held his fist in the hair as he exclaimed:

"ALRIGHT! PREPARE YOURSELF NECKLACE! FOR YOU ARE HUNTED BY THE ALMIGHTY BLACK*STAR!" Having been used to this sort of behaviour, everyone merely rolled their eyes apart from Patti who ignored him in favour of colouring and Liz who jumped a mile before screaming back at Black*Star to sit down and shut up.

"NO ONE WILL QUIETEN ME, FOR I WILL-"

"Black*Star." A soft voice cut him off, quietly admonishing him. The man in question immediately shut up and slowly sat back down.

"Yes Tsubaki."

No one really knew just why Black*Star seemed to adhere to Tsubaki's wishes. It could have been the fact that her kind, almost motherly nature had gained his respect. More likely it was the fact that she had huge tits and Black*Star wanted to get into her pants. Maka who had previously remained silent decided to chime in.

"And how exactly do you plan to distract not only the guards but all of the guests and Shinigami-sama himself?" She questioned, adjusting her glasses slightly.

"That, my dear Maka, I will leave up to you." Soul smiled at her with a mocking sweetness, he still held a grudge against her for making him drop three stories from a balcony onto a moving vehicle. The whole fiasco had left him bedridden, limbs feeling that they had been repeatedly squashed and stretched, a feeling which, by the way, couldn't be gotten rid of by taking conventional painkillers as Maka had so lovingly suggested.

Said girl groaned and put her head down at the prospect.

"The stand itself that the necklace is on is sensitive to weight, meaning that as soon as it's lifted something of exactly the same weight will have to be laid in its place."

"Yeah, I know and already have that bit covered." Maka replied with confidence. Black*Star turned to face her.

"How did'ya manage to find out the exact weight of it?" He questioned. Maka turned her head slowly to stare at him with annoyance before replying.

"Google."

Silence reigned.

"Oh."

Soul cleared his throat, regaining his group's attention.

"If you're done, we have plenty of work to be doing…" He trailed off. "Maka, you know what you've got to do, Black*Star, I need you to scope out the Mayor's mansion for every possible entrance AND exit – we do not need a repeat of London, okay?" Black*Star laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Gotcha Soul! A God such as myself will have no problem completing this task!"

"Yeah, okay. Patti…" He paused for a moment, staring at the blonde who looked up from her colouring book but continued to scribble. It looked more like an explosion of yellow than a giraffe. At least, that's what Soul thought it was supposed to be.

"Hai!" She grinned at him.

"You, Liz and Tsubaki need to go buy pretty dresses. We'll be heading the distraction and you'll be responsible for getting to the necklace around security and back to Black*Star who can then high-tail it out of there. Okay?" The three women nodded their acceptance, Liz especially happy at the prospect of being able to spend a lot of money, the Gang's accumulated funds no less, on expensive clothes.

Soul stretched his arms up, bones cracking while he let out a sigh, a long bath and then a nap sounded good right about now. Turning off the projector, he began to walk in the direction of his room on the other side of the hotel suite, only to be stopped by a peeved blonde in pigtails.

"And what exactly will you be doing while the rest of us are working?" Soul gave her a shark-toothed grin.

"Every cool guy needs a break once in a while." He replied before continuing on towards the heaven that was the power shower.

"Wah? You've been resting for the past two weeks!" She argued, following him into the bedroom.

"Ah, but my back is still aching." He said whilst gathering a fluffy white towel off the edge of his bed, clutching his back and making a face of pain that was obviously a lie.

"NO IT ISN'T!" She bit back. Soul ignored Maka as he entered the en suite, shutting the door in her face as he did. She proceeded to bang on it with her fist. "Oi Soul! SOUL!" She shouted but gave up soon after; it wasn't likely that he would answer. Maka sighed, adjusting her glasses slightly before muttering "lazy bastard."

"So what do you think?" Chief Walker looked at Medusa expectantly. She smirked inwardly, already thinking of plans that would end in the gang's capture.

"I will get on it right away, Soul and his gang will be getting nowhere near that necklace."

"That's excellent news. Once again I cannot thank you enough for taking this on, most would run a mile." He said with a light smile. Medusa returned it, standing and placing Soul's file back in the box before standing and shaking his hand once more.

"I'm sure I can handle it, my aim is to uphold the law and see that those who wish to undermine it are given the punishment they deserve."

"Good. I'll let you get started then."

The blonde reached forward and picked up the box, having no desire to stay in the cluttered office any longer than necessary. She gave one last fake smile before exiting the Chief's office and walking in the direction of her own private office away from prying eyes. She would make sure those thieves got what was coming to them on the night of the Ball, but first, she was going to tuck herself away and read the profiles of the characters she had the pleasure of putting behind bars.


	3. An Aristocrat's Life Part I

**Hey howdy hey i'm back! Sorry for the wait but I had real trouble writing the argument between Soul and Wes T_T I still don't really like it but there you go. The next couple of chapters should hopefully be out sooner ^^**

**Ireland if you happen to be reading this then you need to add being kicked by your pregnant wife to your list of things to do in Manchester ^^**

**Review replies: I think next time i'll just reply personally rather than here... it makes chapters look longer than they are which always annoys me xD**

**Kuro usa-chan man: Freddy Kruger? xD I honestly have never made that connection before xD Pairings are unlikely i'm afraid... well, if there are any it won't be sappy or fluffy - 1. cos it doesn't fit the story and 2. I'm crap at writing that sort of stuff xD You'll have to wait and see about Stein ho ho ho and Chrona unfortunately probably won't make an appearance until the next 'episode' *has it all planned out*. Thanks for your review anyway and i'm glad you're enjoying it ^^**

**Welnakia: Eeeek really? 8D Thank you so much! The Sly Cooper series is one of those unknown gems of the gaming universe - they're amazing and I definitely recommend playing them ^^ I'll assume you're talking about the characters and take that as a compliment xD It's difficult cos the characters in Soul Eater are so out there - i'm gonna have fun trying to write for Stein T_T**

**Luvablenerd** - **Thank you O faithful reviewer ^^ Luckily this chapter is out before Autumn XD I have now finished Uni for the summer! I was busy after easter cos I had 2 essays to write (one of which was about the atomic holocaust in Japan *cue depression*) and an exam but they are done now! Will Kid show up during the heist? Yes, but there won't be much focus on him until afterwards...**

**DeadlySereneGrace - Lol stop making me feel bad about updating slow T_T And I promise Kid will show up, just not yet pleasedontthrowstuffatme *ducks behind rock*  
**

**Souliel: Yep yep I know I know I changed it ^^ So sorry about that *whacks self* Anyway, i'm glad you're enjoying it so far! The coffee thing was inspired by the little things Sly leaves Carmelita e.g. the bottle of wine/postcard etc - I love those moments xD I do hope you like what i've got planned but first, backstory!**

**GrossGirl118 - Do it do it do it mwhahaaaa... In case you missed it, I cut dtk out of chapter 1 - without giving too much away Kid is currently a good law abiding citizen as the son of the Mayor should be - but that all change... *ominous voice* As for Chrona you'll just have to wait and see... rest assured he/she won't be a villain, I hate turning characters into something they're not for the sake of a story (e.g. who the hell turns Jiraiya into a villain? Honestly...)**

**Kitori-xxx: Glad you enjoy ^^ You should be happy to hear there will be no real pairings, this is not a romance story and if there is any in the distant future it'll be less deep, meaningful relationship and more flingy if you get what I mean ^^**

**icedpandacookies: I love your penname xD Thanks for your review! 3 Kid will come in soon, promise ;)  
**

**Thanks to all the favourites/alerts as well, know that I always take the time to perv on yer profiles *creepy giggle***

You know I just thought if this story went like Sly then Soul would be getting it on with Medusa... ew. O_O

As a last note, reading the reviews it sounds like everyone wants Kid xD Well unfortunately there's gonna be 2/3 chapters of backstory first - I feel kinda bad but this is the best place to put it in methinks...**  
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**"Let's face it a person like her could really ruin your whole day" - (Cruella De Vil), 101 Dalmations **- I think that pretty much sums up Medusa ^^

* * *

Chapter 3: An Aristocrat's Life Part I

Medusa took a sip of her coffee, kicking off her black heels as she leant back in her office chair. Bending forward, she placed the coffee down and slid her fingers over the manila folder marked 'Soul 'Eater' Evans', pulling it towards her as she lifted her feet up to rest on the office desk in front of her.

The blonde flipped over the cover, this time ignoring the cocky stare of the young man she was trying to catch instead focusing on the words written beneath. There were the usual details, height, eye colour etcetera, but it was what was written under family history that caught her attention.

_Grew up extremely well off, a member of the prestigious Evans family._

"The Evans family?" Medusa questioned no one in particular. She wasn't a great fan of music but you couldn't avoid hearing about the well-known family especially their son, the violinist, who was always performing in concert halls across the country. Hmm, Medusa thought. She'd never known that there had been a younger son – then again she supposed such a prestigious family wouldn't want to be associated with a criminal.

"So he was a rich kid. Began stealing in his early teens with no previous record of misadventure. Hmm." Medusa moved her gaze to look intently at the photograph, not that it would answer her questions. "You didn't need the money; I wonder what ruined your perfect world."

~~~ 9 years prior. ~~~

Okay.

Maybe he was a little drunk.

Soul blinked as he attempted to focus on the glass clutched in front of his face, lest he lose concentration and fall on his ass in a room full of people. That would be extremely uncool. But hey, what else was there for a twelve year-old to do at a party full of overpaid snobs who had nothing better to do than to show off just how rich they were. He stared at the bubbly liquid with contempt, raising the glass to his lips before thinking better of it. Soul sighed, lowering the glass once more, he truly hated this life.

The faint singing of a violin filtered through from the next room, disrupting the chatter and clinking of glasses. Huh, Soul thought bitterly. At least his parents had one child they could be proud of. He almost wished they'd march straight up to him, shout at him profusely for his underage drinking and send him to bed like any reasonable parent would. But no, he'd stay there stood in no particular corner until someone, most likely his brother, came looking for him. Suddenly, a brief glint from the corner of his eye attracted his focus away from his inner thoughts. Soul's eyes shot across to the other side of the parlour where a man had just shook somebody's hand, revealing a shiny gold watch as his sleeve lifted up. It was nothing new; everyone would make every attempt at his parent's parties to flaunt the latest piece of surgery or diamond-encrusted object. Even so, his eyes never left the man who must have been in his early thirties, the haze of drunkenness leaving him for the moment. Soul observed his arrogant grin with distaste, thinking about just how much he didn't deserve to wear something so nice, and how he'd like to be the one to get rid of that grin.

Not really contemplating just what he was about to do, Soul finished the last of the champagne, slapping it down none too gracefully on the tray of a passing waiter. He let out a puff of air as if gearing up for a race and smirked his usual toothy grin, noticing a possible opening to take advantage of. The 'target' was currently chattering away with another guest who had just taken a sip of champagne, occasionally nodding and joining in. At least he seemed to be distracting the target enough to make him oblivious to the stares of the white-haired boy.

Now how to make it look convincing.

A quick scan around the room told Soul no one was watching as he attempted to pull one of his shoe laces loose as discreetly as possible. Hopefully if anyone did care to observe it would just look like he was scratching his foot or something.

Honestly, he hadn't even done anything yet and already Soul could feel a tingle that was slowly spreading from his heart as it rushed to spread adrenaline around his body. It was making his fingers twitch, Soul supposed it wasn't really a good thing that he was getting this excited but as long this plan worked, he didn't really give a damn.

With one last subtle glance around, Soul stood up from his previous crouch and began to walk as steadily as he could manage towards the target, trying to keep his expression as indifferent as possible, which wasn't easy considering his heart rate was increasing with each step he took.

So close.

He was about 3 feet away from the target when disaster struck and the next few seconds appeared to happen in slow motion.

Soul's heart stopped and his mouth fell open in horror as he found himself getting caught by his own shoelaces. Soul's arms flew up into the air in a most ungraceful manner as he toppled forward, letting out an undignified yelp as he reached out instinctively to grab onto something, anything – which turned out to be the black suit jacket of the man the target was talking to.

The whole thing might have appeared hilarious to an outsider, watching on as the guest promptly bucked under the unexpected weight of a 12 year old boy and fell forwards, glass full of champagne and all, into the target. The bubbly liquid flew out of the glass and hit the target square in the face, leaving him spluttering incomprehensible words as he too fell under the weight, hitting the carpeted floor with a dull thud.

"What in God's name-?" The target shouted, face turning an unnatural shade of red as the guest – also on the ground - took a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to dab tentatively at the target's face, repeatedly stuttering out apologies.

Soul had drowned the two of them out, mentally kicking himself as he pressed his face further into the carpet.

Great.

Abso-fucking-lutely great.

The plan _had_ been to fake a slight stumble and knock into the target, not create a pile up in the centre of a crowded room. Now everyone was most likely staring at him. How uncool. Soul raised his head from the carpet slowly and in a daze reached up to rub his forehead when he found himself face to face with the target's left arm as it attempted to fend off the guest. Thinking fast, Soul brought himself to his knees and grabbed at the offending arm, circling his right hand around the man's wrist.

"I am so sorry. I-I just tripped and fell… Here let me help you." Soul tugged on the target's left arm, encouraging him to stand up whilst subtly feeling around for the clasp of the shiny gold wristwatch, praying that it wasn't one of those slip on watches – all of the embarrassment would have been for nothing. Meanwhile his left hand reached into the front breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a white handkerchief similar to that of the guest's and joined in the assault on the target. Thankfully, Soul managed to locate the clasp and flicked it, holding back a grin as the watch slipped and fell into his grip.

"You stupid child! I ought to-" Soul cut him off mid-rant, retracting his left hand to the man's sleeve and gripping his hand apologetically.

"I am really sorry." He said, elongating the 'really' and putting on his best sheepish face while the watch was carefully but quickly dropped from his right hand to his left and covered in the handkerchief. His target shook off his grip and Soul looked down in shame, quickly stuffing the handkerchief in his trouser pocket. The next words caught him off guard.

"Are you drunk?"

Uh oh.

What the hell could he say now that half the room were watching the scene? Soul's eyes went wide as he continued to stare at the carpet, determined not to make eye contact. Though he could feel the accusing gaze and hear the whispers start up around him. At that moment he had been reduced to being nothing more than a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar; at least the disappearance of the gold watch appeared to have gone unnoticed for now. "Well?" His target demanded. Soul curled his hands into fists at his sides, digging blunt fingernails into his palms. He couldn't exactly deny it, but if he said yes then-

"I am deeply sorry sir, you'll have to excuse my little brother. He can be so awfully clumsy sometimes." Soul started as he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard the familiar smooth voice of his older brother. Huh, he hadn't even noticed the ceasing of the violin's gentle melody, being too preoccupied with committing theft. Wes was most likely flashing his most charming grin at the man, though his status alone would get him anything. The grip moved from his shoulder to his upper arm as he was pulled sideways away from the two men. Soul allowed himself to be dragged into the quieter hallway without looking up from the ground. Even though the watch was still safely nestled in his trouser pocket, he couldn't help but feel like he'd lost – Wes always managed to have that effect on him.

As soon as Wes had checked there was no one to overhear their conversation, he rounded on his little brother, crossing his arms. If Soul hadn't sobered up before he definitely had now.

"You have thirty seconds to explain to me what just happened."

"I tripped over my shoelace!" Soul defended.

"Uhuh, and the fact you're drunk had nothing to do with it."

"I am not-"

"Don't lie to me Soul." Soul opened his mouth to retort but though better of it, scowling at nothing in particular. Wes took his silence as an admission of guilt. He sighed in frustration, looking away from Soul as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"You promised not to do this again, you're twelve for God's sake!"

"Well it's not as if anyone cares! Everyone here's got their heads so far up their asses that they're blind to anything that's not green and made of paper!"

"That's not true Soul, mum and dad-"

"Especially mum and dad." Soul added bitterly. Wes knelt down to his younger brother's level, placing his hands on his shoulders though the latter continued to avoid meeting his gaze.

"Look Soul, I don't know where you get this ridiculous idea that we all hate you from but it's completely stupid, you-"

"I know and I'm sorry Wes okay? Just drop it." Soul cut him off, wanting to avoid having this conversation. Wes studied his little brother, wondering just what ran through his head sometimes. He sighed.

"You're my little brother; I care about you more than anything." Wes admitted. The side of Soul's mouth quirked up, and he finally looked at Wes.

"You know that was really cheesy."

"Yeah, well you're extremely cynical for a twelve year old, gotta even it out somehow." Wes answered back, smiling. He stood up, gesturing Soul to walk with him. There was silence for a few seconds before Wes couldn't resist adding in "Then again I suppose being cheesy is so uncool."

"Shut up." Soul answered with no real anger, elbowing his brother for the jibe. The two reached the doorway they had exited out of earlier on. Soul could make out the man he'd stolen the watch off; who apparently still hadn't noticed but was looking disgruntled nonetheless and was also talking to their mother. Soul grimaced.

"I think I'm actually gonna go to bed."

"I was just thinking the same thing, give you chance to sleep off the alcohol." Soul ignored the comment.

"What about Mum and Dad?" He looked up at Wes who rolled his eyes.

"I'll cover for you, say you're sick or had a dizzy spell or something." Wes let out a puff of air, much like Soul had done before taking the watch and straightened is jacket.

"You owe me big time for this." Soul smiled, not his usual cocky grin, an actual smile.

"Thanks Wes." The elder brother nodded before entering the room and into the belly of the beast so to speak, while Soul retreated, walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Moonlight shone through the window illuminating parts of the otherwise dark room. Soul lay on his bed, left arm tucked behind his head while he held the other in front of him. He studied the wristwatch clasped in his right hand, watching it as it reflected the moonlight when he turned it a certain way. There was nothing really special about it, save an inscription on the back written in a plain font. It read simply, "To Mike" – that must have been the name of the target, though that didn't really matter now.

As much as Soul wanted to grin smugly to himself, the encounter with Wes had sort of ruined the effect, so to speak. He wasn't thinking about how angry or frustrated this 'Mike' would be or how Soul had accomplished his aim of wiping the arrogant smirk off his face. All he was reminded of was how Wes saved his ass and then covered for him while he lied and retreated like a scared child.

Failure. That's what he felt when he looked at it. Soul watched as the hands slowly made their way around the clock face before sitting up. Mind made up, Soul grabbed the handkerchief that he had left lying on his bedside table (the same one previously used to hide said watch) and neatly wrapped up the aforementioned item. He held it and pondered for a few more seconds, before raising his right arm back and throwing it into the waste paper basket that rested next to the desk on the other side of his room.

Soul ruffled his white hair with both hands, before leaning back on his bed once more. He laughed lightly.

He would definitely do better next time.

* * *

**I know its not long but I split Soul's backstory into parts cos otherwise it would take even longer to post up a chapter xD**

Hope you enjoyed it anyway, I was actually quite nervous about this chapter - not sure how you guys will react so please leave reviews, feedback and schizz ^^


	4. An Aristocrat's Life Part II

**Many MANY apologies for the lateness *checks last update* shit it was in June - my god I am terrible at this T_T**

** I had so much trouble and was back and forthing between two different concepts before I decided that the original was too long and no one likes being stuck in backstory longer than necessary so I scrapped that and came up with this. It's not shortened per se, just blended together :) Saying that there will be one more chapter of backstory...  
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**In related news got way too excited this week after finding out the clue bottles are returning in Sly 4! I cannot wait, and the previews look amazing 3 They're infuriating as Hell, but I do love hunting around for them - even if after a while you're hearing the tink-tink noise they made everywhere (even after you've switched the game off xD)**

**So once again many apologies - thanks for all the great reviews and the favourites and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Luvablenerd: Gah i'm glad you enjoyed the backstory! I wasn't sure if it would be boring or overused - considered I took some inspiration from a scene in another fic called Trust Me - I like the idea of Soul being all 'I hate rich people and shit' xD**

**Haru-kaede: Ikr? Everyone needs a good lovable rogue thief story xD And since the SE archive is so small here it's perfect! I'm glad you like Soul as the lead, there just isn't enough of him out there xD**

**Clexausic: lol xD I didn't even know they were a band - I just took a lyric of So Scandelous cos it had been in my head for ages - I do also love the sort of cool, aloof yet derpy aspects of Soul's personality and hoping to stick to that as close as possible ^^ And I have many a wicked plan for Medusa... putting her in a position where she is the authority is just too much fun :D How Soul meets Black*Star will be in the next chapter which I hope everyone will like and I haven't decided on an idea for how Maka joins yet... hmm... waffles...**

**SecretiveLife: Thanks for your review! As for romance it is my sworn enemy (even though I love reading it)... I had enough trouble writing violence in this chapter xD Erm there may be hints but nothing full blown most likely - sorry T_T**

**On with the show!  
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Chapter III  
An Aristocrat's Life Part II

3 years later

It was like any other day in Death City, sun shining, kids playing yada yada, Soul paid little attention as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. Now technically he'd won the expensive item of clothing; the original owner however would disagree but let's not get into the minor details here. As nice as it was, an uncomfortable heat was pushing against the back of his neck which Soul futilely attempted to get rid of with a rub of his hand, which to his disdain, was starting to feel a little like jelly. Soul would never admit that he was nervous though, he was far too cool to act like some sort of pansy who couldn't hold his own. However the people he was avoiding like the plague might not be so unwilling to show they're true feelings.

At the age of fifteen Soul was as good as any other misfit, self-taught thief that hung around Death City, taking on jobs with sometimes nasty repercussions. Over the past three years, the white-haired teen had been around, occasionally satisfying his worryingly bad habit of stealing for a bit of cash or conning those who would attempt to exploit others. After all, it wasn't fun unless they deserved it. However it wasn't all Robin Hood, dashing around and stealing from the corrupt in a pair of green leggings – one poker game gone slightly wrong and he had managed to get himself noticed by less than friendly characters. It was a minor setback but with some luck and a lot of lying low, the whole thing would just blow over.

He was still living at his parents' house, under the watchful gaze of Wes, who after the initial incident at first became suspicious but then was forced to concentrate on his studies and violin lessons. As his thoughts turned to the past, Soul plucked a cigarette from the box in his left pocket and lit it with a cheap, plastic lighter. It was a bad habit he knew, and the only reason he was outside was because of his damn addiction, but as he felt the mix of deadly toxins working their way through his system and taking the edge off, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

That night three years ago had been the turning point, the pivotal moment where Soul began to question the uptight values he'd had ingrained into his brain since he was born. Where he should go, how he should dress, appropriate social behaviour – it all seemed so meaningless now. Call it teenage rebellion, puberty or whatever you like, the young boy had had enough of taking orders. It wasn't that easy though, along the way to enlightenment stood his big brother, fierce as ever with crossed arms and a disappointed scowl, just waiting to give another one of his speeches. But this time, his words would be falling on deaf ears.

It was the morning (well, afternoon) after the party. With a wounded pride more than anything, Soul idly tapped against the ivory keys of his favourite piano, safe in the comfort of knowing the little accessory that had caused such a dent in his ego was currently being pounded and smashed into tiny golden pieces. The piano's soothing rhythm was cut off with the abrupt opening of the large wooden doors and the subsequent tap of footsteps against the tiled floor. Soul never took his eyes off the piano and continued to play, even after the footsteps had stopped disturbingly close to his back.

"I know what you did." Wes's voice rang out as Soul's playing cut off. His hands paused over the keys, unable to decide the best action. "I'm not sure why, and I don't claim to understand the inner workings of your brain, but please Soul let me know this is an isolated incident." The brother in question gulped, fingers gently resuming their tapping before the lid was unceremoniously closed over them, just in time for Soul to snatch his fingers away and stare accusingly at Wes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Soul said with the best stony expression he could pull off.

"Is that so? Because there just happens to be an angry police officer who begs to differ."

"It was just a bit of fun." Soul finally answered.

"Fun? Do you know what would happen if mother and father found out?"

"You didn't tell them did you?" Even Soul didn't want to think about how his parents would react to his little exploit. Wes sighed, noticing the panic filtering into his brother's voice.

"No. I told them you'd eaten something bad and needed to rest. I think they believed me." There was a heavy silence before Soul spoke, eyes averted away.

"Thanks."

"Just… Promise me you won't rob unwitting party guests again – or anyone else for that matter."

"Yeah… I promise."

Lying to Wes was one of the hardest things Soul had ever had to do, especially after everything his brother had done for him. It still stung now to think about how Wes would smile and encourage him as if nothing was wrong, just the fact that he was still living at home was bad enough. Soul chuckled as he took a last puff of the cigarette before stamping it out on the cobbled street, remembering something Wes had said to him once.

"You know you could really use some friends of your own age." That's what he'd been advised. Soul guessed Wes was sick of the constant piano playing, or that fact that he had been outside so little lately that his complexion was beginning to match his hair.

"Like who?" Soul had asked, after all he wasn't exactly the biggest social butterfly.

"What about the Mayor's son? You two used to play when you were little." He'd laughed at that.

"You mean that weirdo with the stripy hair? Kid or something… He is impossible to hang out with; do you know how difficult it is to play with someone like that? Kid has some serious issues." Now Wes had laughed at that, commenting that they might have gotten along given half the chance. As if. Someone like that would completely cramp his cool image.

"Well look who it is." A mocking tone filled his ears as he was hauled none too gently back into the present.

Shit.

He supposed running would only make things worse. The white-haired teen looked up to where the voice had emerged from. Turns out he was standing outside one of those dark alleys usually found in bad cop shows, complete with rubbish bins, puddles and a rickety fire escape. Stood in the middle were four large guys possibly in their mid-twenties, hands in pockets save for one who was waving a bat around threateningly. The one in front brought a hand out, giving Soul the opportunity to glimpse a flash of metal that was the hidden blade.

"What's up?" Soul replied in a tone that betrayed his true feelings, trying desperately to stop his sudden sense of dread from showing on the outside.

"I think you have something that belongs to us."

"Hey I won this fair and square, not my fault you guys lost." Soul held his hands up in denial. Noting the anger on the leader's face, maybe antagonising them wasn't the best option. The leader nodded to something behind Soul and before he could turn his head to figure out what his arms had been grabbed roughly and he had been shoved to the ground. Soul looked up to be met with a large fist aimed at his cheek, the force jerking his whole body sideways as pain bloomed from his jaw. He was about to swear when the punch was following by a sharp kick to the gut that had him lying on his side and gasping for breath. Palms scraped against the rough ground, creating grazes that Soul didn't care to think about as he tried to pick himself up.

"YOU DO NOT. TRY. TO TRICK ME!" The brute shouted, punctuating each word with another kick to his stomach before sending his head slamming into the ground. Soul wheezed and coughed, droplets of blood splattering across the floor to his horror while he fought off the haziness entering his vision. He blinked and swore he saw the glint of the knife once more. His breath hitched as the cold steel pressed against his neck directly beneath his jaw, heart racing beneath a bruised ribcage. "Now what do you say?" The man hissed into his ear. Soul could do little more than groan and hold back a whimper that was inching its way up his throat as he felt warm blood sliding down his neck., trying to keep as still as possible. He shut his eyes tight and opened his mouth to speak.

"Six against one? That's not very fair now is it." The voice was not his but the teen didn't give it much thought as the pressure against the slowly deepening cut eased.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" He heard the thug ask; Soul turned his head slightly and dared open his eyes a few millimetres, catching the blurry outline of someone stood against the opening of the alleyway. The voice chuckled in a slightly insane way.

"Who the fuck am I? Why, I'm just a passer-by, hoping to try out this lovely shiny steel pipe on someone who deserves it."

What the hell? Who did this guy think he was? Apparently some of the men must have thought him serious as the sudden fast footsteps told Soul of their immediate departure, only a couple remained.

"Fuckin' cowards, get him!" The leader thug screamed; the two in question made their way warily to the man and the subsequent dull thud of metal against flesh and the dark lumps falling against the ground told Soul that they were at least unconscious if not worse. The clang of the knife hitting the ground rang through Soul's ears as the leader backed up. The object in question had landed just in front of Soul's face, on impulse he stretched out his arm and grabbed it – jeez this was not what he was expecting to happen from a single poker game. There wasn't much he could do though and as blackness surrounded him, the last things he saw was the man who had come to his rescue kneeling next to him and inspecting the back of his head.

"Shit. Kid, can you hear me? Kid!" Well that can't be good, those were Soul's last thoughts as he finally accepted the call of unconsciousness and passed out.

* * *

The first thing that Soul felt was cold. Something was dabbing against the back of his head which, by the way, was pounding as if it had been slammed repeatedly against a hard surface. Oh wait, that actually happened. From what he could gather he was lying on his side on something soft, maybe a bed or sofa. The last thing he remembered was… Oh great, he'd been kidnapped by the creepy guy. Soul tried to move his arms only for his entire being to groan in protest.

"You probably shouldn't try to move right now." Soul opened his eyes, he was in a living room from what he could tell, lying on a strange patchwork sofa. The man appeared from beside the sofa, dropping what appeared to be a damp cloth into a bowl that was resting on the table in front of the sofa. "All cleaned up, and you only needed three stitches." He said, plopping down into the armchair opposite and putting his feet up on the table next to the bowl. He was wearing what appeared to be a lab coat, with unruly white hair and a thick scar running across his face. Was he a doctor or something? Out of all the questions running through his head at the moment, Soul thought he better start with a basic.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily.

"My lab. Not too far from your house." He answered, lazily lighting a cigarette and leaning back in the chair.

"Lab… so you're a doctor then?" He bloody well hoped so considering the man had put stitches in the back of his head. The man shrugged.

"Of sorts." Soul supposed that was the best answer he was going to get. As long as he didn't turn out to be Frankenstein or something. He was ready to ask another question when the man cut in.

"The question is, what did you do to piss of some Death City goons?" He inhaled the smoke, breathing it out slowly while he waited for Soul to reply.

"Game of poker gone wrong." He finally replied, going against the advice and lifting himself up so he was no longer lying on his side, rather resting against the back. The whole effort had reintroduced the pain that had eased since his last attempt, causing him to groan and mumble an ouch.

"Tried to cheat?" The man asked, eying Soul with a knowing smirk.

"That's none of your business." Soul replied, gingerly prodding the back of his head.

"So you did try to cheat." He chuckled, taking another drag of his cigarette. "Let me guess, you tried false dealing, but they grew suspicious." Soul remained silent; obviously the man took that as a yes. "A rookie error. The point is not to let them know what you're up to – after all if something's too good to be true it probably isn't."

"So you play cards?"

"Now and again." The man answered vaguely, giving away no emotions.

"You're a doctor, you play cards and you cheat."

"And you're a boy, you play cards, and you're bad at cheating." Soul ignored the jibe.

"So what, you're a master con artist as well?"

"I'm Stein, and I believed I just saved you so try being a little less rude."

"Right, sorry. I'm Soul, but seriously, you're a con artist?" The man, Stein, stubbed out his cigarette.

"Only sometimes. And since you're feeling so well Soul, I think it's time you should be going home, I have experiments to conduct."

"But…"

"But what? You gonna ask me to teach you or something?" Stein asked disbelievingly.

"Well if I'm so bad maybe you could show me a thing or too." Soul answered. He wasn't sure what he would be getting himself into or whether this Stein was a doctor, mad scientist or master thief but this guy knew what he was doing and Soul wanted in.

"So what the little rich kid can have some entertainment for a while? Do something rebellious; get grounded by mother and father?"

"It's not like that! And I am not like them!" Soul shouted, immediately gripping his ribs afterwards, gasping in pain. Stein's face softened slightly.

"Look, kid, you're doing this for all the wrong reasons - you aren't the karate kid and I'm not an old guy with a moustache, so just go home, get a hobby."

A car horn sounded from outside the building. Soul tried to speak but Stein beat him too it. "That's your taxi. I'll walk you out." He spoke with such finality that Soul didn't bother replying. Sighing in defeat, he slowly edged himself into a sanding position, ignoring the leather jacket pushed in his direction. It was stained just like the watch had been, another marker of his defeat. The two walked in silence to the lab's extremely clinical looking front doors, as the opened Soul found himself blinking against harsh sunlight – but…

"Wait, how long was I out?"

"Overnight. I had to knock you out again for the stitches."

"You… Wha?"

"Just be thankful I left the rest of your body alone." Soul's eyes widened, not wanting to think about what this crazy doctor might have done to him had he decided to 'experiment' on his defenceless, unconscious body. But the biggest problem he faced now was going home, not something he was particularly looking forward to. Not only did he look like shit, if his parents caught wind of how it had happened… This just wasn't his day. Soul breathed, maybe if everyone was out, they wouldn't have noticed his disappearance and Soul could slip in unnoticed. He was brought out of his thoughts of his impending doom when Stein grabbed the back of his head.

"OW!" The teen complained.

"Should be fine, you're lucky it wasn't worse. Just keep the wound clean and the stitches can come out in a few weeks. Same with the cut on your neck."

"Right, yeah." Soul escaped his grip and slid into the cab, reluctantly giving the driver directions to the Evan's mansion.

"Hey, Soul." The boy in question looked up with the tiniest glint of hope in his blood red eyes.

"Better luck next time." And with that the door to the cab was shut and Stein was making his way back inside the lab. So that was it? Soul fumed. He might as well have left him lying in the alley. Stupid mad scientist - and a con artist? Tch, yeah right. And what the hell kind of a name was Stein? Probably had an undead zombie guy in the basement too. The angry teen however only had a few minutes to contemplate what had just happened before the cab had rolled up to the huge iron gates at the front of the family mansion. To his disdain there was a police car parked in front, so much for slipping in unnoticed. As he stepped out of the cab he realised he had no money for the fare but the driver waved him off – aww so the crazy scientist paid for his ride home, how nice of him. His last form of escape vanished as the cab drove off.

Soul breathed, gearing himself up for the upcoming interrogation only to realise the equally big front doors were open, showing off three extremely angry family members. Soul trudged towards and through the gates as his mother stomped forwards across the gravel path – the rage was emanating off her in waves that sent shivers down Soul's spine. He took a moment to glance at his father who shook his head and turned to go back inside, and Wes whose face was a hurtful mixture of worry and disappointment.

Oh well. Here goes nothing.

* * *

There you have it ^^ Hope you enjoyed - and also hopefully I'll be on a roll and could maybe possibly have the next chapter in a couple of days before Christmas - after which I can get fat, play lots of Uncharted and knuckle down to some Uni work ^^

Just one more chapter in the past after this which includes how Soul met Black*Star (other character's backstories will be explored later in the story - or in a different story if this one ever gets finished and popular enough for a sequel (which i'm already beginning to plan btw so it better had xD)

Again please read, **- review -  
**(just throwing in some not-so-subtle hints there ;D)


	5. My New Best Friend

AN: Yeah i'm just gonna apologise profusely and leave this here, thanks for the continued support (not that I really deserve it mind you). I didn't necessarily forget about the story, it just kept getting pushed to one side :( I don't really have an excuse and I am a lil bit ashame.

Again sorry and I do hope you enjoy xx

**Chapter 5**

My New Best Friend

The door slammed behind him with a resounding bang that echoed through the cold room, swiftly followed by the sure sound of a lock clicking into place. Soul observed the room dejectedly, there was a dismal looking bunk bed on the right side, opposite which stood a table littered with sweet wrappers and a set of dog-eared playing cards. The whole place was enclosed by pale blue breezeblock walls save for a small window at the back which was lovingly barred up.

In retrospect, things could have gone better, Soul thought as he trudged towards the lower bunk. He sat and ran his hands through his already ruffled white hair, the words of the officers buzzing around his head like flies. A quiet snoring came from the top bunk, Soul assumed it was his new roomie. The other was soundly asleep, and he didn't want to wake him so he lay himself on the lower bunk as quietly as he could and pulled the thin duvet over himself. It smelt weird.

Overall, it wasn't a very inviting place, but then again detention centres aren't exactly designed to inspire comfort in their occupants. They'd taken his favourite leather jacket too and stuffed it God knows where, instead forcing him to wear the same white t-shirt and grey sweat pants as everyone else. He probably looked like death warmed up, Hell, he felt like death warmed up. His eyes itched from fatigue despite the extended bout of unconsciousness, and he ached all over as if he'd just ran a marathon around Death City.

The first thing his mother had done was to hit him across the face, of course. Not that he didn't deserve it, Soul supposed. What was harder to bear, though, was watching the disappointment form on his big brother's face as they accused him of three counts of assault and grievous bodily harm.

Assault, honestly. Those bastards, well, the ones who ended up in hospital anyway, went squealing to the police, saying that Soul himself had attacked them. Now Soul wasn't exactly the tallest or the strongest guy in town, how the police managed to come to the conclusion that he would be able to take on three humongous Neanderthals and win was beyond him. Either way, they thought it best to hold him in this shithole 'due to the violent nature of the crime' as they put it, until they could get a full testimony off himself and those involved. Before he knew it he'd packed a few personal items (which had been taken off him when he arrived anyway), shared a very awkward goodbye with his family and was already sitting in the back of a police car on his way to Death City Juvenile Detention Centre.

Soul rolled onto his side and curled up. His head was beginning to throb again. Overall, this is what you'd refer to as a pretty shitty situation.

Sure, he could tell them it was a crazy doctor that committed the crime he was being accused of in a bid get himself out of here, but Soul reckoned the police were unlikely to believe him, especially if the 'victims' were pinning it on him. Besides, despite everything going on, without Stein's help Soul would most likely have been a pile of rotting meat by now. If he ever got out of this, Soul decided that he would seek out Stein to tell him that they were even – he hated being in debt to another.

The person on the top bunk suddenly shifted, Soul hoped the other didn't decide to wake up, he wasn't really in a talking mood.

"Hey." A whisper.

Dammit.

Maybe if he didn't answer, the other guy would think he was asleep and give up.

"Hellooo?" No such luck. Soul stubbornly remained silent, clutching onto the duvet like it was an invisibility cloak. The last thing he needed was to attract the attention of the other residents and end up in an even worse pile of shit.

The guy in the top bunk shifted again, causing the old springs underneath the mattress to creak. A few seconds of silence, and Soul heard nothing more from his cellmate. He presumed the other had given up with the impromptu meet and greet and decided to go back to sleep. Though now he was only left with his disturbingly pessimistic thoughts.

Sure it wasn't so bad now, but what if he was convicted? What then? Would he be released? Or kept in this place until he was eighteen? Then he'd be moved to a real, grown up, shiv-in-the-back-for-a-cigarette type of prison. A shiver ran through Soul - that was something his fifteen year old self couldn't bear to think about. If Soul was superstitious, he would have declared it was karma, retribution in return for every sap he'd conned or stolen from.

Soul scrunched his eyes shut, willing himself to believe that thinking such things was ridiculous, and that he actually wasn't as scared about what might happen as he physically felt. It was with this in mind that Soul fell into an uneasy sleep.

BANG!

The sound woke Soul from his sleep with a jump. He quickly rolled over and wiped the dried up drool off his cheek as if he was back at home being woken up by Wes. Then reality hit. Oh, right… assault charges… Prison. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, hoping that that it would somehow shake the tiredness that still clung to him.

"Whoa man you look like you have a toilet brush stuck to your head!" A voice brashly exclaimed. Soul looked up to see his roommate, hanging upside down over the top bunk, inspecting him with the curiosity of a monkey. Huh, like that guy could talk, he was sporting a full head of blue spikes! Giving the other guy a look that hopefully conveyed 'leave me alone', Soul ruffled and patted his white hair into something he hoped resembled his usual style.

The door opened to reveal a bored looking guard, who gestured at the two to leave the room.

"Time for breakfast guys." The man stated unenthusiastically before moving onto their neighbours. The other boy jumped down from his bunk and landed gracefully on two feet with too much enthusiasm for that time of the morning. He turned to Soul with an ear-splitting grin on his face.

"I'm Black*Star by the way! The Great and the Powerful. Nice to meet you." The guy, Black*Star, held out his hand to shake, Soul eyed it for a moment before taking it warily.

"Soul." He replied simply. Black*Star yanked at Soul's hand and lifted him onto his feet, despite a noise of protest from the other.

"Soul? What kind of a name is that?" Black*Star asked.

"Well what kind of a name is Black*Star?" The boy in question answered sharply, rubbing his aching shoulder. Black*Star remained unaffected by Soul's coldness and continued to smile.

"It's a… erm… family name." Black*Star replied with hesitation. Soul thought back for a moment, he thought maybe he'd heard about the infamous Star Clan years ago from Wes when he was trying to scare Soul for a joke. Wes had always described so beautifully the bloody massacre that had taken place, and that the survivors liked to eat children for breakfast. Of course when he'd gone crying to his mother she'd kindly explained to him that no such thing was true. Whatever happened to those good old days when his parents were as loving and doting as any other, Soul wondered.

"Oi. Breakfast. Now." The man called to them from the door. Without saying anything else, the two left the room and joined the end of a procession of other boys clad in the same outfit, presumably headed towards the canteen.

The canteen itself was the same shade of pale blue breezeblock, though the room was brightly lit, filled with grey tables, each with four or five boys seated around them. Some chatted noisily to each other whilst others simply sat in silence and ate their breakfast.

Just act cool.

Soul decided it best to follow Black*Star's lead, picking up a green plastic tray and joining the queue for food. A bowl of cereal and a glass of juice was unceremoniously dumped onto the tray by a bored-looking teen standing behind the food counter, probably one of the current inmates. Instead of joining a group like Soul thought he might, Black*Star sat at one of the empty tables and thankfully gestured Soul to join him.

In a strange way, it was like being at a high school, only a high school for delinquents who were guarded at all times and weren't allowed to go home at the end of the day. Soul sat down at the table and grabbed the spoon, inspecting breakfast with disdain. As soon as his butt hit the seat Black*Star unceremoniously began to wolf down the mush that might have been edible in a previous life.

"So," Black*Star spoke suddenly in between mouthfuls, "you like an albino or something?" Soul looked up at the other boy in confusion. Hadn't this guy heard of his family? Or did he just have no manners? Though as far as Soul could tell, it was pure curiosity on Black*Star's face. "I don't mean that in a bad way, just wondering if you got it off your parents or what." He added quickly. Deciding he would rather build bridges than burn them, Soul replied.

"Get it off my mum's side of the family, my brother's the same as me. What about you and the..." Soul trailed off, gesturing to mop of spikes sitting atop the other's head.

"Oh that? As the Great Black*Star, I need to stand out above everyone else in not only my actions but also appearance!" He answered cheerily, waving his spoon in the air.

"Huh, you don't say." Soul replied.

Okay, so this guy was a little strange but he seemed friendly enough – in Soul's mind not threatening to beat him into a bloody mess was considered friendly - perhaps his initial fears about this place were unfounded. Then again there were a couple of older teens currently giving Soul daggers from the other side of the room as they ate their breakfasts in what Soul assumed was supposed to be a somewhat menacing manner. Soul hoped to God that he hadn't conned them in the past, now that he thought about it they did look kinda familiar. He turned away, futilely trying to shield his face with his hand.

"What you in for anyway?" The question offered a good enough distraction as Soul mulled over his answer. Technically he had committed plenty of crimes that warranted a spell in the Detention Centre, but ironically enough it was a crime he didn't do that he was being held here for.

"It's… complicated, I guess." That was the best answer he could think of. "I'm in here for something I didn't do, but kinda am to blame for."

"You kill someone?" Black*Star asked nonchalantly.

"What? No! I just… I got on the wrong side of some guys and, well… Now they're in hospital." Soul finished glumly. Black*Star's eyes widened slightly and he opened his mouth to reply, but before he could question further, Soul interrupted him. "And yourself?" Black*Star leaned back in his chair and hummed as though he was unsure.

"This is my… third or fourth time here, I can't remember. Robbery, mainly. I get into a lot of fights as well. Counsellor says I've an _argumentative temperament_." He emphasised the last two words with finger quotes. He shrugged. "Not my fault people don't accept me as their better."

Well it was no wonder he kept getting into fights, Soul thought, coming out with lines like that. He wondered if Black*Star even realised what he was saying.

"Guess the celebrities are too good to sit with the rest of us." A voice interrupted. A dark-haired teen flanked by three others approached the table and stood with his arms crossed, staring at the two with an unnecessary amount of contempt. Oh Hell, it was that guy from across the room. Quick, act like you've never seen him before. Whilst Soul found himself suddenly staring at the table top with great interest, Black*Star stood up boldly with his hands on his hips.

"A big man such as myself cannot sit with smaller individuals." He smiled widely. Soul gaped at him, was he trying to cause trouble? The other inmate was in a similar state of bewilderment.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I said-" Soul stood quickly and put his hand over Black*Star's mouth, muffling the rest of his sentence.

"Pay no attention to him, the guy's deluded. It's sad, really." Soul replied with a nervous laugh. Black*Star wriggled free, frowning at Soul for cutting him off mid-speech.

"Yeah you're right. Poor little Black*Star, lost it after his family were all gunned down by the cops." The guy said with fake sympathy while his lackeys chuckled behind him. The boy in question lowered his eyes to the ground, fists beginning to clench at his sides. "Aww see he's getting all shy now." The guy went to pat Black*Star's head, but some awkward sense of loyalty to his cellmate took over Soul, and he swiftly grabbed the outstretched hand.

"Hey, that's enough."

The guy looked almost shocked. His friends murmured quietly to one another, as if Soul had just committed blasphemy.

"You're an Evans, right?" Soul's eyes narrowed, he didn't like where this was headed. "What, mum and dad not give you enough money?" Okay, this guy was a dick.

"Hey didn't I con you one time?" Soul bit back. The other guy went red, either out of embarrassment or anger from the memory, Soul couldn't quite tell but he decided to bite further.

"At least I don't fall for cheap card tricks a five year old could see through." He smiled cockily.

"You little fuck." He wrenched his wrist free of Soul's grasp.

"Hey now, you don't wanna mess with this guy," Black*Star suddenly proclaimed enthusiastically, surprising Soul as much as the others. He patted his hands on Soul's shoulders. "He's a murderer." Soul could have smacked himself on the forehead, the teen looked as if he was either going to hit Soul or burst out laughing. By some twist of fortune, however, in that moment a voice broke through the tension between them.

"Problem boys?" It asked with overt sweetness. A smartly-dressed woman with an ID badge clipped to her waist stood to one side, clutching a clipboard in one hand. The teen and his two friends backed off.

"Not at all." He answered simply before turning around and leaving. Soul took a better look at the newcomer. She was blonde and not much taller than himself and Black*Star, all around she was overly cheerful and relatively harmless. However when the woman looked right at him there was a coldness in her eyes that had the hairs on Soul's neck standing up. From Black*Star's expression, Soul could tell that he didn't think much of her either.

"You're new." She stated simply. "I hope you're adjusting well Mr…" She expected an answer but Soul remained silent. After a few moments she gave up and grasped the clipboard with both hands. "Right, well I'm sure I'll be seeing you at some point in the future." She turned to Black*Star. "As for you it's time for your weekly session, I trust you're ready?" The boy in question sighed and nodded. "That's good. Off we go." She turned and headed towards the exit with Black*Star trudging behind as if he was headed to the gallows.

Huh. Soul assumed she must have been the counsellor Black*Star mentioned earlier. He stood for a moment. Now that the threat had subsided and the only person he knew had gone, it was almost lonely. It didn't seem like the appropriate situation to try to network with the other inmates, especially after almost getting in a fight with some of them. Instead, he sat quietly and awkwardly, attempting to eat some breakfast.

* * *

This was a lot more boring than he assumed it would be. After breakfast it was time for classes, just like in school only here the kids had even worse attention spans. Apparently it was so the inmates wouldn't be too far behind in school once they were released from the detention centre, not that it really made a difference. Most of the time he spent staring at a portrait of Shinigami-sama that was hung on the wall next to the whiteboard whilst the teacher was trying to stop kids from whaling on eachother. Why did he always look so happy anyway?

Lunch was a dull affair too, and Soul was beginning to wonder where his new blue-haired acquaintance had gotten to, surely counselling sessions weren't this long? Soul was already dreading his enough. After he'd eaten it was designated recreation time in the centre which as he found out meant anything from hanging out in the games room, watching television, or enjoying the fresh air outside.

And thus Soul found himself sat in the centre's large (but completely enclosed) outdoor area, lazing on an old wooden bench with Death City's summer sun radiating against his closed eyelids. He'd managed to bum a cigarette off one of the other inmates and was currently enjoying the poisonous toxins, despite being only fifteen. Well, the guards didn't seem to mind or even care. In fact the whole thing reminded him sharply of that one time he got drunk at his parents' party without anyone so much as batting an eyelid. He smiled fondly at the memory, as one would when recounting silly things they did in their childhood.

He brought the cigarette to his lips and inhaled.

"You know smoking kills." A voice interrupted the peace. Soul frowned and exhaled.

"What are you my mother?" He grumbled and opened his eyes, using one hand to shield against the bright sunlight. Although the figure was nearly silhouetted, there was no confusion as to who belonged to the outrageous spikes.

"Oh, hey." Soul greeted.

Black*Star unceremoniously plopped himself down next to Soul and grabbed the lit cigarette out of his hands, raising it to his mouth. "What happened to smoking kills?"

"Yeah well…" He answered grumpily. After inhaling though, the blue-haired boy immediately began to cough and splutter, Soul couldn't help but laugh. Black*Star made a sour face and handed the cigarette back to Soul.

"Ugh that's disgusting" He wheezed out between coughs.

"Then why…?"

"it seemed like a good idea… it wasn't." As Black*Star regained himself, Soul stubbed the cigarette out on the bench and turned to his new friend who was currently slouched over himself.

"So, rough counselling session?"

"I hate that bitch." The other answered bitterly with an expression of upmost contempt. "You know the blonde one from earlier. She has this way of… getting inside your head… it's fucking creepy." Black*Star shivered. Huh, so Soul wasn't the only one who was getting a bad vibe from her.

"Thought that's what counsellors were supposed to do."

"Not like this though, I've seen guys who have been completely reformed after therapy with her, like hardened criminals turned into one hundred percent law abiding, God-fearing citizens."

Soul frowned in confusion.

"Isn't that sort of a good thing?"

"well yeah," Black*Star agreed, "but it's like they're not themselves anymore, like whatever they were has been burnt out and they're just an empty shell." Soul frowned in disbelief.

"What, like in that movie with the aliens and giant pea pods?" Soul joked.

"Exactly." Black*Star replied with a completely serious face. He's just being over-dramatic, Soul thought. In fact, from what he'd seen so far at the centre, Black*Star only knew how to do over-dramatic. Soul smiled at shook his head.

"Whatever you say man."

"Just wait until you're actually there, one word and you'll be crying like a five year old telling her your life story." Black*Star looked into the distance and shook his head. After a moment he sat up and clicked his fingers like he'd just remembered something. He reached into the pocket of his standard issue grey trousers and pulled out the well-worn set of playing cards that Soul had spotted earlier in their cell. "Speaking of which, what did you mean about using card tricks on those assholes from earlier?" Black*Star looked at Soul expectantly, the latter sighed.

"Oh that. It's just a stupid scam, most people know it's a scam but occasionally you'll get someone who doesn't. Ever heard of the three-card monte?" Soul asked, taking the cards from Black*Star as he did so. Black*Star looked blankly at him and shook his head.

"You know the one where you have three cards, shuffle them face down on a table whilst telling the mark to keep his eye on one. If he can find the card after they've been shuffled then he's won the game."

Soul picked out three cards from the pack and showed them to Black*Star, two kings and an ace. He moved to create space between them and placed the cards face down in a line on the bench.

"Okay so here's the ace," Soul lifted up the ace and showed Black*Star, before placing it back down. "You just have to follow it." Soul began to pick up the cards and expertly began shuffling them. He glance up at Black*Star who was animatedly concentrating on following the cards.

He placed the cards down. "Now you tell me, which one's the ace?" He asked. Black*Star barely hesitated before pointing at one.

"That one." Soul lifted it up and sure enough, it was the ace that was revealed.

"Very good. And again." Soul repeated the process a couple of times, Black*Star winning each time.

"I don't get how this is a trick." He announced after a while.

"This is only the start. Now you know how to win, why don't you try betting on it?" Soul asked.

"I don't have any money." Black*Star deadpanned.

"Okay well, let's just say hypothetically. The point is, you've now put money on the table, and we play again."

Black*Star looked at him suspiciously, but played along a few more times. Though this time, the blue-haired teen could only ever find one the kings. By the fifth go, Black*Star was beginning to grow agitated.

"Okay how are you doing that?"

"It's just a sleight of hand, I make you believe I'm moving one card when it is in fact another. The point is by now you've lost all your money and I have it." Soul grinned.

"So how do you do it?"

And so Soul spent the rest of the afternoon trying to teach Black*Star how to play the three-card monte scam. It was an odd feeling, teaching someone a trick instead of using it to con them out of their money. As you could imagine, Soul's extracurricular hobby resulted in him being surrounded by less than trustworthy people most of the time, thus it was particularly difficult to find friends. Being able to share this side of his life with someone and not having to lie or hide behind a persona was definitely not what he was used to. Soul decided he liked it.

Before they knew it, the sun was beginning to wane in the sky and their peace was interrupted by the wailing of a loud bell throughout the area, they were being called back inside. The few inmates still wandering around outside stopped whatever they were doing to walk slowly towards the double doors, where guards stood posted on each side to usher everyone in and make sure no one remained. Black*Star reluctantly gathered the playing cards and stuffed them back in his pocket and sighed, for a moment he looked as if he was mulling something over.

Soul shrugged it off and the two stood and followed suit, joining the queue of inmates. As the two were still just about out of earshot of the guards, Black*Star suddenly tugged on Soul's arm, pulling him slightly to one side.

"Hey Soul."

The boy in question checked to see no one had noticed or was paying particular attention, before looking at Black*Star expectantly.

"What is it?" Soul asked, almost worriedly. Black*Star took a deep breath before continuing.

"You wanna break out of here?"


End file.
